In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* In Case I Forget?
* Another Minor Change, This Time in My Schedule
* The Numbers
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought.” Tina Turner
In Case I Forget?
For me, one day is pretty much like the next, filled with the excitement of running through a story with my characters, trying to keep up.
So yesterday I wrote ‘in case I forget to say it, I do wish you a happy and thoughtful and fun-filled Thanksgiving Day.’ Then a little later, my wife reminded me this will actually go out on Thanksgiving Day.
Duh! As I said, for me one day is pretty much like the next. So I didn’t forget Thanksgiving. I just kind’a sort’a misplaced it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Like a lot of other folks, today I’ll gorge myself on turkey, mashed sweet potatoes (mmm, gotta love those carbs!) and homemade cranberry sauce. And I’ll watch a couple of football games if I can find them, especially that KC vs. Dallas thing.
But because I knew all of that was coming, I decided to earn it. So I endeavored to rise even earlier than normal, publish this issue of TNDJ, then leap back into my current novel and slap (I hope) a few thousand words on the page (maybe even reach the end) before heading up to the house.
If you’re wondering, yeah, I do the same thing on birthdays, Christmas, etc. Because the sun comes up and goes down. And because hey, a guy deserves to have a little legitimate fun, right? 🙂
Another Minor Change, This Time in My Schedule
Lately some of you might have noticed I’m not quite as responsive (or at least not quite as quick to respond) to emails as I’ve been in the past. If you haven’t noticed, blessings on your fine self.
Until recently, I left my email account open all day, notifications turned on, and my computer sound turned on even as I’m writing.
But a few days ago, although my email is still open and the notifications are still on, I turned the sound off.
I still check for new emails four or five times during the day, but I no longer hear a notification when one comes in.
So if I don’t answer you right away, hang in there. I’ll check email again within a couple of hours.
The Novel
I’ve always enjoyed being fully transparent in my posts on TNDJ, and especially as it concerns my own writing.
Much earlier in the current novel, I’d written a long scene that covered a chapter and a half. That scene consisted of 2616 words.
But something about the scene wasn’t right. It felt as if I’d maybe allowed my critical mind to sneak in and nudge the story in a particular direction. As you know, I guard against any critical mind intrusion on the creative process.
So I cut the scene, but just in case it was valid but simply ‘out of sequence’ and might belong elsewhere in the novel later, I saved it. So that scene’s been part of my cumulative word count to date.
Yesterday at around noon, it became apparent that the end of the novel is fast approaching. I have no idea what the ending will be yet (thank goodness!) but I know it’s growing near. And it also became clear that the ‘extra’ scene I wrote will not end up in the novel.
At that point I’d added 3155 new words to the novel. When I skipped down to the end and deleted the ‘extra scene’ (2616 words) that brough my net total for the day (up to that point) to 539 words.
But thank goodness all that cutting stuff is over. With that done, I returned to continue writing the novel. So the cumulative word count today reflects only words that will definitely appear in the novel. I expect it will wrap today.
Any questions, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Writers Quitting Also see my comment in response to a comment by LM. It might help some of you.
How to Use Perception to Create Subtext in Deep POV Read for information, then forget it and create with the creative subconscious.
Everything About Generative AI and More
First Thanksgiving It has nothing to do with Pilgrims.
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 750
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 750
Writing of Blackwell Ops 52: Sam Granger | Done and Dusted
Day 1…… 4693 words. To date………… 4693
Day 2…… 3623 words. To date………… 8316
Day 3…… 3530 words. To date………… 11846
Day 4…… 6309 words. To date………… 18155
Day 5…… 5129 words. To date………… 23284
Day 6…… 5217 words. To date………… 28501
Day 7…… 5617 words. To date………… 34118
Day 8…… 0539 words. To date………… 34657
Fiction for November……………………… 86967
Fiction for 2025…………………………… 749008
Nonfiction for November.………………… 23030
Nonfiction for 2025………………..……… 262500
2025 consumable words………………… 1003939
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 17
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 36
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 121
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29